A Brave new world
Anne Heche and her co-stars tell Rick Bentley why they’re so fascinated with their new show.
Mike Vogel has a long list of television and film credits that include Grounded for Life, Pan Am, Miami Medical and Bates Motel. But no project he has worked on has touched the Pennsylvania native as deeply as his new series, The Brave.
Getting to play the leader of an elite military group is a thrill for him because it’s giving him the opportunity to pay homage to some people who are very close to him. Vogel explains that some of his ‘‘nearest and dearest friends’’ come out of this community and his driving concern is to make sure that he and the show do them justice.
‘‘There’s a great quote from either George Orwell or Rudyard Kipling that goes: ‘People sleep well in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf’.
‘‘I think we understand it in America, having the freedom of opinion and thought and speech, and to come from many different viewpoints, that’s the beauty that makes up our country,’’ Vogel says.
‘‘We are afforded that opportunity because rough men and women stand ready to do violence on our behalf and protect that right. So, for me, to have the ability to step into that and in some minuscule way contribute to their real-life heroics is an honour, and I’m humbled by it.’’
How he and the rest of The Brave cast will pay tribute is through the series that follows Captain Adam Dalton (Vogel) and his special ops squad of undercover specialists who carry out each mission on the ground in countries around the world.
His team includes sniper Sergeant Jasmine ‘‘Jaz’’ Khan (Natacha Karam), CPO Ezekiel ‘‘Preach’’ Carter (Demetrius Grosse), combat medic Sergeant Joseph ‘‘McG’’ McGuire (Noah Mills) and intelligence officer agent Amir Al-Raisani (Hadi Tabbal). The team works closely with Defense Intelligence Agency Deputy Director Patricia Campbell (Anne Heche) and her team of analysts.
The Brave is one of several series which have debuted in the past year in the US dealing with the military; others include Valor and Seal Team. The approach Vogel talks about is one of the reasons the cast and crew feel like they will be able to distinguish their series from the rest.
Grosse stresses The Brave is not a typical military show. ‘‘While we highlight a very specific group of people who have tactical and military experience, and, yes, we interact with the Department of Defense, and things of that nature, but we deal more in terms of the espionage and intelligence levels in the military, the things that we don’t normally see that go into avoiding actual firefights and military conflict,’’ Grosse says.
‘‘So the thing that makes the show unique is that you see the behind-the-scenes things that you normally wouldn’t associate with military: espionage, code switching, deep cover kind of stuff.’’
Executive producer Dean Georgaris piggybacks Grosse’s comments by pointing out that the inspiration for The Brave is closer to ER because that medical drama pulled back the curtain to reveal more about the people than the procedures. Just like ER, The Brave also deals with a lot of complicated issues and tosses around a lot of lingo, but Georgaris expects that just like ER, that will feel more natural to the viewers with each episode.
It’s interesting Georgaris would use ER as an example because when that medical drama debuted in 1994, there was a very similar medical drama, Chicago Hope, that opened on a rival network at the same time. Everyone wondered how so many medical shows could exist and ER became the long-running winner.
The Brave is designed to focus on two different teams who at times will be 8000 kilometres apart and even more distant in other ways. The DIA members have the most exquisite technology in the world, while the team on the ground could be dealing with something as simple as not having a phone service.
Heche, whose past credits include Aftermath and Dig, oversees them all. She was drawn to the project because of the chance to represent a group of people who make life-and-death decisions.
‘‘Being a part of this group of people who are representing and honouring our military and the people who have chosen with their lives to give to others and dedicate their lives to saving others is extraordinary. I think I’m fascinated by people who sacrifice themselves,’’ Heche says.
‘‘And when I first spoke to Dean about this project, he was very interested in talking about the humanity. Who are the people who give up their lives for others, and how are they affected by the decision that they have to make every day? What is the toll that it takes to serve your country and put that first?
‘‘I think that’s a really complicated issue and I think this group of people, these actors, the team of producers, care so much. This human being that I’ve been asked to play is one of the most extraordinary women that I think I’ve ever been able to dive into.’’
The Brave 8.30pm, Mondays, TVNZ1.